Theme Install Problems

I just setup a new centos 6 server on rackspace. I am running PHP Version 5.3.3

Database connection works fine i can add pages ect but if i try to upload a theme or install a plugin i get errors stating it can not find my wp-content folder. i then added define (‘FTP_CONTENT_DIR’, ‘/wp-content’); to get a constant for the wp-content direcotry then it told me it couldnt find the themese folder

after a day of messing with it i just ftped my theme up, nowever now I need a plugin. Tells me it doesnt have permissions to create a folder under the plugins dir. define (‘FTP_PLUGIN_DIR’, ‘/wp-content/plugins/’);

I am sure its probably something with my server setup but does anyone have any ideas. I have spent about 2 days ripping my hair out googling it.